Surfer Dan Malloy on Quitting the Grind, Starting a Farm, and Traveling in Your Own Backyard

"Not a simpler life. That's bullshit. Farming is about as hard a way of life as I can think of."

Last year, pro surfer Dan Malloy, filmmaker Kellen Keene, and photographer Kanoa Zimmerman set out on a two-month adventure in their own backyard of California. Hooked on the idea of seeing their home state through new eyes that were unburdened by day-to-day life, the trio biked down the Golden State, stopping to spend time, listen, and learn with farmers and artisans along the way. The result of it all was chronicled into a book and video project entitled Slow Is Fast, an exploration of finding your home all over again, a window at what becomes possible when you open yourself up to the things right in front of you.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

We caught up with Malloy to talk about the experience, what it meant to him, and why he did it. The accompanying images are never-before-seen outtakes from the trip, courtesy Kanoa Zimmerman.

Kanoa Zimmerman

Most Popular

It was a lot of ideas coming together. I've been surfing professionally for a long time now, and been steeped in all the different kinds of action sports marketing. In one way it was a reaction to how uninterested I am in that anymore, like an anti-Red Bull. There was no real significant feat performed on the trip. I was like, "Can you do that? Can you go on a trip where, number one, there's no crowning achievement you've decided you're going to get before you leave? And, two, can you go on a trip where the photos were just evidence of what happened, not the sole reason for being there?

Kanoa Zimmerman

I love to travel. It's amazing and addicting. But it's super rich when you can learn something and feel the same way that you do on the road and be at home, it's an amazing combination. It just takes a little bit of creativity and flipping things around. Home is stuffed with work and family, and for me it's easy to get numb to how pretty it is here and how much there is to learn.

Kanoa Zimmerman

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

There are so many ways to see the environmental problems we're going through right now, and most of them feel negative and like we're just fcked. But when I see it through the food system it seems really proactive. There's simple things you can do every single day to support your community which are better for the environment.

Not a simpler life. That's bullshit. Farming is about as hard a way of life as I can think of.

All photos by Kanoa Zimmerman

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

I have a little farm – a really, really small one – we have goats and citrus and stuff like that. I don't get tired of meeting new farmers and hearing what they do and how they do it, and just hanging out with them. It's impossible to find a small-scale farmer who isn't super funny and classic and interesting and a little bit crazy, in all the best ways. They're not in it to get rich, 'cause you cant get rich doing that, so you're going to meet some interesting people.

All photos by Kanoa Zimmerman

Most Popular

What was promised — everything from the industrial revolution to large-scale agriculture — it's not all paying off. Some of it's amazing, some of it's completely disastrous, but it's really clear that it's not the golden ticket. There is a movement ­— and it's not just "fck all technology" and completely back to the land — it's, "Hey, let's be a little bit more conscious about what we choose to be a part of." There's something to learning a little bit more about the processes of what we're doing.

Kanoa Zimmerman

We can't wait around for other people to fix all our problems, and wait around for big companies and the government to make up something new that makes our lives easier. There's a lot of ways to get it done on your own, and there's all these people out there doing it. It's fun to tap into that. And I think the mainstream media is just catching on.

Kanoa Zimmerman

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

It took two months. It wasn't like we were riding every day. We weren't doing the miles that real bike riders would be doing; we didn't train at all, as far as cycling. It was just how we were getting places. It's nice to get out of a car. After two months of just riding, I got in a car and instantly felt lackadaisical and lethargic, and I was like, "wow, I think I've been a little bit car sick for 36 years." In California you just grow up in cars, it's a huge part of your existence.

Kanoa Zimmerman

We'd be powering andwe'd stop and surf, and it would make the surf that much more satisfying. It's a really fun way to get around. The thing is, even if you just have a few days you can get a rad trip for almost nothing, you're just paying for food. And if that's your only expense you can splurge, and so you're getting good exercise, you're eating amazing food, and your barely spending any money.

Kanoa Zimmerman

When you're on a bike and you have all your gear, you're totally self-sufficient, there is definitely a phenomenon of meeting people and all of a sudden you're staying at their house. I've never experienced that in California or the U.S. Almost every single day someone would ask us to have dinner at their house or camp out next door. It felt like someone was filming us and playing a joke on us. It was weird.

Kanoa Zimmerman

If you can snap yourself out of the day-to-day stuff at home, which I think lays everybody down a little bit, it enables you to see the places you see all the time in a new perspective. I'm pretty much frantic like anybody else. I think this crazy business we've got ourselves into is just a total joke. I don't think its necessary, but I'm as wrapped up in it as anybody else. I often look at myself and go, "holy shit, this is it, you're gonna be dead pretty soon, and this is what I'm doing? This is crazy!" And so I try to take some of the little stuff that I learn on the road and apply it where I can.